The sorry attempt to place Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court isn’t the only bad news depressing us here at Confined Space World Headquarters today: Poultry Plant Processing Speeds The Department of Agriculture published a notice yesterday in the Federal Register that would raise line processing speeds at certain poultry plants, raising the already high likelihood…

Well there’s some very bad news for those of you who don’t want to be blown to smithereens in your sleep by a bomb train or your local fertilizer supplier. Brakes are for wimps As those of you who read my posts on the Lac Megantic disaster where 47 people were incinerated by a “bomb…

It is Halloween night, 2016, and, as I reach the outskirts of town, it feels as though I am entering Mordor. Bursts of red and yellow flames shoot up out of the earth, illuminating the pitch darkness. These are the byproducts of oil fracking, the natural gas and methane that are burned away by producers…

Corrections officer at Oak Park Heights dies after helping colleague attacked by inmate Oak Park Heights, MN — A corrections officer at Oak Park Heights state prison died Monday after rushing to help another officer who was being assaulted by an inmate. Joseph Parise, 37, was one of several officers who responded at noon to…

Some people — especially journalists — sometimes falsely label workplace fatalities as “freak accidents” even when they’ve happened before and could have been prevented. But how can you tell? Here is a couple of handy examples: Freak Accident 2 teens arrested in killing of Burien grandmother by stray bullet BURIEN, Wash. — Two teen boys…

While Rod Rosenstein and Brett Kavanaugh may be on their way out, OSHA nominee Scott Mugno and other Department of Labor nominees may be on their way in according to intrepid Bloomberg reporter Chris Opfer. You may recall that business interests, who hate, hate, hate the idea of Democrat Mark Pearce getting another term on…

“They Treat Us Like Mules”: “They will break you down and then throw you away.” That’s what construction worker Ernesto Rivera told the Mike Elk at the Guardian about how construction workers are treated in Tennessee. Nashville is booming, but workers are paying the price.”In 2016 and 2017, 16 workers were killed on construction sites in…

When Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh comes back before the Senate next week to respond to allegations of attempted rape, the Senators may want to follow up on his SeaWorld dissent and testimony (See here and here) by discussing another related story. For those of you just tuning in, in 2010 SeaWorld killer whale trainer Dawn…